After the Packers loss, the Cowboys sign a former 11-TD receiver in their initial moves.
The Dallas Cowboys made their first action after losing to the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs by announcing the signing of eight players to reserve/future contracts. Jalen Moreno-Cropper and Racey McMath, two receivers, are among the players that signed new contracts.
Before the NFL playoffs, the Cowboys added wide receiver McMath to the practice squad. In addition, Dallas signed linebacker Buddy Johnson, defensive back Sheldrick Redwine, tight end Princeton Fant, lineman Earl Bostick, cornerback Josh Butler, and pass rusher Durrell Johnson to reserve contracts.
A Reserve/Future contract: what is it? Most of these players were part of the Cowboys practice squad, and their rights are retained by the organization under a Reserve agreement for the upcoming campaign.
In an article published on January 8, 2023, titled “NFL Futures Contract: Everything You Need To Know,” Ben Rolfe of Pro Football Network clarified that the reason it is called a “futures contract” is because the player is not formally under contract until the beginning of the next league season.
The player’s contract does not count against the salary cap or the roster limit for the current season, which makes distinction crucial. Rather, it is applied to the salary cap of the subsequent year, and the player is deducted from the 90-man roster cap during the summer.
It is important to remember, though, that a player who signs a futures contract is put on a reserve/futures list and is not allowed to negotiate with other clubs. clubs are not allowed to sign players from other clubs with futures contracts, unlike with practice squads.
Jalen Moreno-Cropper, a receiver with the Dallas Cowboys, scored 16 touchdowns overall in his final two seasons at Fresno State.
Moreno-Cropper spent last season on Dallas’ practice squad but did not see the field. The 22-year-old wideout has an impressive collegiate resume from his time at Fresno State. Moreno-Cropper notched 83 receptions for 1,086 yards and five touchdowns for the Bulldogs in 2022. The receiver also had 85 catches for 899 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2021.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein gave Moreno-Cropper a sixth round grade heading into the 2023 NFL draft. The receiver ended up going undrafted and signed with Dallas as a free agent. “Slot receiver with adequate size who finds ways to get open thanks to tempo variance over route acumen,” Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft profile. “Moreno-Cropper’s ball skills shine when he’s elevating and making adjustments mid-flight, but he struggles when attempting to play through contact and make contested catches.
“His versatility to throw, run jet sweeps and operate outside of the norm for his position could be intriguing for creative play-callers and teams looking to add competition at receiver on Day 3.”
The Cowboys have plenty of roster decisions to make after another early exit in the NFL playoffs. Yet, the major question hanging over the Dallas offseason is who will be the head coach. Owner Jerry Jones has been remarkably quiet about Mike McCarthy’s future since the team’s blowout loss to the Packers. Sports Illustrated’s Mike Fisher reported that Jones plans to treat his end-of-season meeting with McCarthy as a “job interview.”
“Coach Mike McCarthy is already under contract with the Dallas Cowboys for one more season,” Fisher detailed in a January 16, 2024 article titled, “Mike McCarthy Meeting with Cowboys’ Jerry Jones ‘Like a Job Interview.’” “But he will nevertheless be figuratively presenting his resume to team owner Jerry Jones when he meets with the team owner this week in what one source tells CowboysSI.com “will be “like a job interview.” Jonathan Adams covers the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, focusing on the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Lakers. His work has been prominently featured on NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. More about Jonathan Adams
